Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is famous for being the all-American wrestler of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation, now called World Wrestling Entertainment) and later as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan in WCW (World Championship Wrestling).

Appeal

No doubt, the fame and fortune Hulk Hogan has accrued over his lifetime -- particularly during his heyday in the '80s and '90s -- has made members of the opposite sex swoon, you know what we're sayin', brotha? However, after his 14-year marriage to wife Linda unraveled, women seemed creeped out by Mr. America as he started dating blondes as young as his daughter Brooke Hogan.

Success

In 2005, Hulk Hogan became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. He was a 12-time world champion, a six-time WWF/WWE Champion and a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He also had his own reality show, Hogan Knows Best, and acted as the host of American Gladiators when it started up again in 2008.

Hulk Hogan Biography

Born Terry Gene Bollea on August 11, 1953, Hulk Hogan (as he would later become) had a father, Peter, who was a construction worker and a mother, Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher. After his birth, his family moved to Tampa, Florida, where he grew up. After pitching in Little League and getting into watching televised professional sports as a teenager, Hulk Hogan started to follow wrestling, idolizing Dusty Rhodes and Billy Graham. At the same time, Hulk Hogan also dabbled in music, and he spent 10 years playing the bass guitar with local bands in bars, watering holes where Florida-based pro wrestlers hung out.

Hulk Hogan was accepted into the University of South Florida with a major in business management, but soon dropped out, preferring afternoons spent at the gym. He caught the eye of pro wrestlers Mike Graham, Jack and Gerald Brisco, who convinced Hulk Hogan to try wrestling himself.

hulk hogan wins first wrestling championship

Hulk Hogan made his professional wrestling debut on August 10, 1977, against Brian Blair. Known then as the “Super Destroyer,” Hulk Hogan was also tag teaming with Ed Leslie (or “Brutus Beefcake”) and quickly assumed the name Terry “The Hulk” Boulder.

In June of ’79, Terry “The Hulk” won his first wrestling championship, the NWA Southeast Heavyweight Championship. By 1980, Hulk Hogan had joined WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) and thus began his infamous long-running feud with Andre the Giant.

hulk hogan joins american wrestling association

In 1981, Hulk Hogan made his debut with the AWA (American Wrestling Association), which was owned by Verne Gagne. He also had a bit part in the flick Rocky III (1982). As the “face” of the AWA, Hulk Hogan’s popularity swelled, and by ‘83, he was tangled up in a messy feud with AWA World Champ Nick Bockwinkel. Given their different fighting styles, Verne Gagne decided to not let Hulk Hogan clinch the championship, and after Hulk Hogan defeated Bockwinkel several times, it was never actually determined that he “won,” as decisions were always overturned after the fact.

Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan was also traveling to Japan and gaining notoriety in the East. In June 1983, he won the IWGP (International Wrestling Grand Prix).

hulk hogan returns to wwf

On December 18, 1983, Hulk Hogan married his wife Linda.

After Vince McMahon purchased the WWF from his father, Hulk Hogan was chosen to represent the franchise. In December 1983, in his debut, he triumphed over Bill Dixon. Then, on January 23, 1984, Hulk Hogan became WWF champ for the first time, and hence, Hulkamania ensued. Recall red and yellow shirts being ripped off the perfectly chiseled body of Hulk Hogan as he motioned with his hands for fans to chant louder.

In 1985, Hulk Hogan was featured in TV Guide and People magazine and also cohosted SNL. He was the first pro wrestler to make the cover of Sports Illustrated in April 1985, which was the second best-selling issue next to the coveted swimsuit issue that year. He was also portrayed in the kid’s cartoon Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, but his voice was provided by Everybody Loves Raymond’s Brad Garrett.

hulk hogan is wwf champion (again… and again)

Hulk Hogan defended his title in an October 1985 match against Nikolai Volkoff and in 1986 against several more fighters including Terry Funk, "The Magnificient" Don Muraco, King Kong Bundy, and Hercules Hernandez.

Then, on March 29, 1987, at Wrestlemania III, Hulk Hogan defended the WWF World Heavyweight title against none other than Andre the Giant once again. Hogan held the title for just over four years, until he finally lost it in a legendary match against the Giant, his long-time nemesis. Like a ping-pong match, in March 1988, Hulk Hogan helped Macho Man Randy Savage regain the championship.

hulk hogan wins wrestlemain v, vii and viii

On May 5, 1988, Hulk Hogan’s first child, daughter Brooke Hogan, was born. Then in August of that year, Hulk Hogan, along with Randy Savage and manager Miss Elizabeth (“The Mega Powers”), started a feud with another alliance, “The Mega Bucks” (Andre the Giant and Ted DiBiase), with The Mega Powers ruling supreme at the first-ever SummerSlam. However, internal jealousy amongst the group sparked another battle, this time between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, which came to a head at WrestleMania V in April 1989. Hogan won the match.

In June, Hulk Hogan starred in the flick No Holds Barred and, in July, his son Nick was born. Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble but lost WrestleMania VI that April to The Ultimate Warrior (Brian James "Jim" Hellwig). However, the ’91 Royal Rumble title was his once again.

At WrestleMania VII in March ‘91, Hulk Hogan won against Sgt. Slaughter. In the fall, he lost the WWF title to The Undertaker before regaining it at a special pay-per-view event, This Tuesday in Texas.

Leading up to WrestleMania VIII, Hulk Hogan began to discuss retiring after the match, which he won against Sid Justice by disqualification.

hulk hogan returns to wwf and does steroids

In January 1993, Hulk Hogan returned to the WWF with a Tag Team Championship battle at WrestleMania IX, pairing with Brutus Beefcake (“Money Inc”) against Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster (“The Mega-Maniacs”) but losing. Later in the evening, however, Hulk Hogan won his fifth consecutive WWF championship and defeated Yokozuna. In June of that year, he made his last appearance in the WWF at the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view, where he lost to Yokozuna. In the same year, he also appeared in the movie Mr. Nanny.

In 1994, news spread regarding the use of anabolic steroids in the world of professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan publicly disclosed that he had, in fact, been a steroid user for the 12 years he was in wrestling. The negative press put a noticeable dent in the popularity of both Hulk Hogan and the WWF.

hulk hogan joins wcw and new world order

After a brief hiatus from the spotlight, Hulk Hogan joined WCW (World Championship Wrestling) in June 1994. He won his first match against Ric Flair, and then others against Vader and The Butcher until finally relinquishing the belt in 1995 against the Giant.

In 1996, after bad blood began between Hulk Hogan and WCW owners, Hulk Hogan changed his image to become “Hollywood Hogan” the villain, and joined fellow wrestlers Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to create a team he called the “New World Order” or nWo. In August, he won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship, however he lost it a year later to Lex Luger. In just five days, Hulk Hogan wasted no time and scooped the title back from Luger.

That year, Hulk Hogan also acted in the flick Spy Hard with Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, the action-comedy The Secret Agent Club and Santa With Muscles. And in ’97, he was in The Ultimate Weapon.

After a no-contest decision at Uncensored 1998 and a fourth WCW Championship win, Hulk Hogan started pitting himself against celebs like Dennis Rodman.

In January 1999, Hulk Hogan challenged Kevin Nash to the WCW title on an episode of Nitro and won his fifth championship.

hulk hogan at returns at wrestlemania x8

After a very public real-life feud with Vince Russo in which Hogan sued him and vowed never to return to the WCW, Hulk Hogan slowly faded from the limelight for a few years. In 2001, he was the spokesperson for the video game Legends of Wrestling. However, he returned to the pro wrestling scene with a vengeance, reuniting with nWo and fighting The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson, which ended up costing Stone Cold Steve Austin the title of WWF Undisputed Champ. The Rock and Hulk Hogan battled at WrestleMania X8 in March 2002, and although the Rock won, he and Hulk Hogan mended bridges. At Backlash 2002, Hulk Hogan earned his sixth WWF Championship, but it would be his last. However, it wasn’t his final wrestling win, as he and The Edge clinched the WWE Tag Team Championship too.

At WrestleMania XIX, Hulk Hogan beat Vince McMahon in March 2003. That was also the year of “Mr. America,” yet another persona Hulk Hogan took on to taunt and fuel fires with McMahon and Roddy Piper.

hulk hogan in hall of fame and on raw

While his daughter Brooke was releasing her debut album in 2004, her father was celebrating a lifetime of achievements, and a year later, he was recognized for it. In 2005, after an extensive wrestling career and more championships than any other pro wrestler, Hulk Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Sylvester Stallone.

That April, Hulk Hogan made a surprise appearance on an episode of RAW, helping Shawn Michaels defeat Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. Then, at SummerSlam 2005 in August, Shawn Michaels challenged Hulk Hogan to a match than ended in a friendly victory for Hogan. Randy Orton took the opportunity to challenge Hulk Hogan to SummerSlam the following year, which Hogan also won.

hulk hogan on hogan knows best and american gladiators

In 2005, Hulk Hogan and his family were introduced to America via their reality show Hogan Knows Best. In 2006, Hulk Hogan inducted Mean Gene into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Hard times hit the Hogan family in 2007 when son Nick was involved in a devastating car accident. Nick had been driving and his passenger-friend John Graziano suffered permanently injuries requiring a lengthy hospitalization. Then, that November, Hulk Hogan’s wife filed for divorce. Finally, in May ‘08, Nick Hogan was sentenced to eight months in jail as a result of his charges.

In January 2008, Hulk Hogan became the host of the primetime revival of American Gladiators. He also played a role in the movie Little Hercules in 3-D.

In April 2009, Hulk Hogan made headlines when he discussed his divorced with an L.A. publication. "I could have turned everything into a crime scene, like OJ, cutting everybody's throat," he said. "You live half a mile from the 20,000-square-foot home you can't go to anymore, you're driving through downtown Clearwater and see a 19 year-old boy driving your Escalade, and you know that a 19 year-old boy is sleeping in your bed, with your wife... I totally understand OJ. I get it."